Nasser Al-Khori leverages the power of sport to shape the leaders of tomorrow

euronews (in English)

Nasser Al-Khori is the driving force behind Generation Amazing, the foundation is a legacy of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

Transcript

00:00Nasr Al Khoury believes sport has the transformative power to change people's lives.

00:07He's committed to harnessing that power to create positive change for marginalized children around the world.

00:14Generation Amazing serves as a proud legacy of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

00:19Under Nasr Al Khoury's leadership, the foundation aims to inspire a new wave of innovative leaders.

00:26It's not just playing football, it's learning life skills.

00:29We create more inclusive societies and we bring and unite people.

00:34As an influential executive in the global sports community,

00:37Nasr Al Khoury is also the UNESCO Chair on Governance and Social Responsibility in Sport.

00:47Hey Nasr.

00:48Hi Adel.

00:49Got some good talent right here.

00:50Yeah, we do.

00:51The future team.

00:52Exactly.

00:53Watch out.

00:55Nasr, Generation Amazing Foundation has created a safe space here in Doha

00:59for Palestinian children who were evacuated from Gaza.

01:02They participate in weekly sporting activities curated specifically for them.

01:08But this goes way beyond just kicking a ball on a football pitch.

01:12What's the goal of this program?

01:14For the Gaza evacuees here that we have in Doha,

01:17we've been doing a lot of psychosocial support through sports, through football and other activities.

01:22So we create a safe environment for them to be able to express themselves,

01:26talk about hardships and difficult things that they've gone through.

01:31We look at sports as a way to resolve trauma,

01:34but also other conflicts and issues around mental health as well.

01:38We're training coaches to be able to lead these sessions within their community

01:42so it's us unlocking their potential,

01:45giving them the tools and what they need to be able to empower themselves.

01:50What we're also trying to do now is create a young team of Palestinians

01:54to be able to compete in tournaments locally.

01:56So this is kind of in a nutshell what we've done on the sports side.

02:00We've also done writing workshops, again looking at trauma, post-trauma.

02:05Writing is a great way to express yourself

02:07and we have a group that on a weekly basis sits with a professor

02:11that basically looks at writing as a form of expression.

02:15So that's a look at what's happening at the local level,

02:18but Generation Amazing has an international reach.

02:21What's your global vision?

02:23We are the flagship legacy foundation of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

02:27We look at how sports could be used as a tool for human and social development

02:32to again embed values, build resilience, create global citizens.

02:37Sports is an amazing platform.

02:39We've all witnessed how sports transcend cultural barriers and boundaries

02:46and I think this is why we utilize sports

02:49and we try to create these programs where we create more inclusive societies

02:54and we bring and unite people.

02:56It's not just playing football, it's learning life skills,

02:59it's learning communication skills, leadership skills, teamwork,

03:02all these values that we believe in.

03:04We're not a football academy, we're not a sports academy,

03:06but we are there to support the development,

03:10the human and social development of the community itself.

03:13Kafu, Beckham, Chavi, just some of the incredible ambassadors

03:17who share Generation Amazing's vision and mission to inspire and empower youth.

03:23What kind of characteristics do you look for in ambassadors?

03:26We're looking for people that share the similar vision of Generation Amazing

03:30that again want to use sports for social and human development.

03:33Then I think this is the power of legends like these individuals

03:37that again are not just lending their name and voices,

03:40but they're going the extra mile.

03:42So we've had Chavi, for example, visiting our community club in India,

03:46visiting Omesh, one of our advocates, going into his house,

03:49playing football with him in his own community.

03:52We've had Kafu do a lot of similar youth activations in Brazil

03:57in the lead up to the World Cup there.

03:58David Beckham has been very engaged obviously in the Doha community

04:01with our different community clubs here, with our festivals.

04:05It's these amazing role models that everybody looks up to,

04:08especially the youth that are able to inspire and are able to create that change.

04:12This is why we are very lucky to be able to work with such legends.

04:22Nasser, we're now inside the Khalifa International Stadium.

04:25Originally built in 1976, this stadium has hosted several historic sporting events,

04:31including eight World Cup matches.

04:33What's your favourite memory here, and why is Khalifa Stadium

04:36such an important part of the legacy of Qatar 2022?

04:39This stadium is historic.

04:40For us, the World Cup was not a 30-day tournament.

04:42It's beyond that.

04:43And going back to your question about my favourite memories,

04:45that was in the lead up to the World Cup.

04:47We had a lot of Afghans transitioning through Doha

04:51during the displacement that took place in Afghanistan,

04:54and we hosted the national women's team.

04:57And after a couple of conversations with the team and FIFA,

05:01we decided to organize a friendly football match

05:03between our team and the Afghan women's national team,

05:07and we did it here.

05:09Now, sports has the incredible ability to strengthen international relations.

05:12We saw that firsthand at the World Cup.

05:14Is sports diplomacy at the core of your role?

05:17You're a generation amazing.

05:18I mean, everything we do, there's that diplomacy thread that connects everything.

05:23But also, top down, we work a lot with UN agencies, with governments, with ministries,

05:27to also make sure that sports diplomacy is on the agenda

05:30and that we can work together bilaterally to kind of, again,

05:34encourage these programs to support youth and underprivileged communities around the world.

05:39You were recently appointed the UNESCO Chair for Governance and Social Responsibility in Sport.

05:44What does that role mean to you?

05:46And tell us a bit about your outlook for that position.

05:49The idea behind the chair is that we are able to kind of influence the policy

05:52and kind of recommendations around research.

05:54We've created some sort of, in a way, it's best practice

05:57in terms of sports and social impact.

05:59So the idea is that we want to kind of make sure that that's shared with the rest of the world

06:02so people can kind of look at us and Generation Amazing, Qatar World Cup as an example,

06:07but also to influence policy and set recommendations for, again,

06:11governments and officials to kind of use sports for social impact.

06:16Now, I imagine you must have heard many harrowing stories during your missions.

06:20And I also imagine sport must help you bring some level of sanity.

06:25But outside of this pitch, what brings you peace?

06:28I love art, especially Middle Eastern, Arab art.

06:32I think some of the artists and works that talk about resilience

06:37and kind of promote culture and dialogue.

06:40And I think there's just beauty in that.

06:43I've also started collecting art over a couple of years.

06:47It's an amazing way for me to disconnect

06:50and kind of also in a way telling the history of the region

06:54and the diversity that exists as well.

06:57I mean, art is a great example of that.

07:00And you're a source of inspiration for a lot of the young people.

07:03What is it about this generation that is so amazing to you and keeps you going?

07:07I think the fact that this generation is like so interconnected.

07:10I mean, it's amazing to see that they can come together and talk about almost everything,

07:14no matter what divides, whether it's culture, whether it's language,

07:18they always find a way to communicate and to be able to kind of talk to each other.

07:22And I think that's so important because, you know, dialogue is really important.

07:27Our cultural understanding is really important.

07:29We've seen it in our festivals.

07:31Every festival that we organize, we bring kids from different parts of the world.

07:35They meet each other, and then we're all nervous because we're like,

07:39OK, what's going to happen?

07:41But in a matter of minutes, they become friends.

07:44And then towards the end of the trip, they don't want to leave,

07:46and they're crying and saying goodbyes.

07:48At the end of the day, they have more in common than differences.

07:51Dialogue is really important, and it's very important for us to have you on the dialogue.

07:54Thank you so much.

07:55Thank you. Thank you. Of course. Thank you.

Category

Transcript

Recommended